This story received second prize in the Cavies Galore song, story, and poem contest!

Michaela was 10 years old and although her family had a Dalmatian dog named Dotti and two love birds, Peaches and Sweetie, she felt lonely. She wanted a pet of her own. Her brother Kevin acted like Dotti was all his dog and mom pretty much took care of the birds. She wanted a pet she could love all herself.

One day Michaela went over to the park to play on the new playground equipment that had been put in. Some of her friends were there swinging and asked her to join them. Amanda thought it would be fun if they had a contest to see who could jump out of the swing the farthest. Michaela had a feeling she shouldn't play this game but she decided to anyway. When she jumped out of the swing, she had this terrible feeling something bad was going to happen. When she landed, she landed on her arm and it hurt really awful. She had broken her arm!

During Michaela's recovery, she asked her mom if she could have a pet she could cuddle and play with. After all, her arm was so bad the doctor told her she couldn't do anything for 8 weeks. They even had to cancel their vacation to Disney World! "You already have a pet. You have Dotti and Peaches is yours," said mom. "But mom, Kevin has Dotti all the time and you take care of Sweetie and Peaches! I want a pet that is just mine!" "Well, what kind of pet do you want?" asked mom. "I want a hamster or something like that," said Michaela. "Well, we'll look around at the pet stores and see what we can find," said mom.

On Saturday, Michaela and her mom went to PetsMart and looked at hamsters. When mom picked one up, it bit her! "Well, I don't know about that," said mom. "Let's go look somewhere else." So they went to Petco and looked at their hamsters. As soon as mom picked one up, it bit her! Michaela picked one up and it bit her, too! "I don't think this is a good idea Michaela. Your daddy doesn't care much for animals that look like mice and the fact that they bite will be a definite strike against them!" Just then a worker at Petco asked if she could help. Mom explained the situation and what they were looking for. The worker asked, "Have you ever considered a guinea pig? They are really sweet animals and never bite unless they are hurt or scared. They make really wonderful pets." Mom and Michaela looked at each other and then asked the worker if they had any guinea pigs. The worker took them to another part of the store and showed them the guinea pigs they had. They were so cute! All fuzzy with whorls of hair all over. The worker said they were abbysinnians. "Let's go home and tell your daddy and see if he'll come and look at them. If he likes them, then you can have one," said mom.

Michaela and her mom went back home and talked to her daddy. They explained how they had been looking for a small pet for her to have and the problem with the hamsters and then about the guinea pigs. Daddy said he would have to see it first before he made any decisions. Michaela was so excited because she knew her daddy would like the guinea pigs as much as she did.

Sunday arrived sunny and bright. Michaela and her mom and dad went back to the Petco store. They walked back to the area where the guinea pigs were kept and looked at them. They asked a worker if they could hold a couple of them. Michaela saw a little girl pig with ginger colored hair and whorls going every which way. "That's the one I want! She looks so pretty!" So mom asked the worker if they could hold her. Michaela fell in love with her right away. Mom also bought a book about guinea pigs and then found the right kind of cage and bedding to buy to house her in.

On the way home, Michaela tried to think of a name for her new little friend. Ginger would be a good name or Cinnamon because of the color of her hair. They all agreed that would be a good name. However, the more Michaela thought the more she felt the name just didn't seem right.

On Monday morning, Michaela came into the kitchen to get carrots for Rosie. "Rosie?" asked mom. "I thought you were going to call her Ginger." "I just thought Rosie sounded better. I really didn't like the other names," said Michaela.

So Rosie became a member of the household and gave so much love for all the love she was getting in return. She would wheek, wheek whenever she heard the carrot bag opening. She would run to the kitchen door and wait for her carrot. She loved to eat out of Michaela's hand. After eating she would give lots of kisses for the special treat. Michaela loved Rosie so much. Finally she had a pet of her very own to love and cuddle with. They had so much fun cuddling in bed at night until mom would come in and say Rosie needed to be in her own bed so she wouldn't get hurt during the night. Rosie even watched TV with her at night after she did her homework. She was the best friend anyone could have!

By Lutricia Kroh